Improvement in vehicles



v UNITED 1STATES .PATENT OFFICE.

`vanno): wiiitnimmor RockFolin,dInLiroIs'l speist-.funn forming pm of Leners ramt-N0, 41,47 salami pin 2 5, is65.1 t

To @ZZ whoml it may concern.:

Be it known that I, Z" LMoN B. WAKEMAN, ot' Rockford, in tliecounty of NVinnebago and State of Illinois, have invented 'certa-in new Aand uset'ul Improvements in Vehicles; and 1 do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

making part. otl this specilication, in which,-

Figure 1 is a plan ot'awa'gon, with the body removed, illustrating myinvention. 'Finn 2 is spondne partsiu the several figures.

This invention consists, first, in lnew dcvices forsimportngthe tongue or neap, so as to relievel the horses of the weight thereof',

,and this part of my invention may tie-regarded as an improvement in the subject of my patent ot' March 10, 1857.

The invention consists, fnrther,.in a contriv ance for steadying the. tongue'iii turning or passing over rough places or obstacles, the purpose being to prevrnt the sudden jerking et' the tongue and-the striking of the' saine against the horses, which, when working in common vehicles, are continually subjected to injurious blows in consequence of the sudden lateral jerking of the tongue. f

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to fully understand and use the saine, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The accompanying drawings exhibit the running-gear of an ordinarywagon, A being the wheels, and 13 the reach. f

`G is the tongue or pole, having two forks or branches, c c, at its rear end, and these are pivoted to the hounds l) D in suoli a way that the tongue capa-ble oi' vertical movement to any extent.-I l

E is a rod extending beneath the `tongue loi'igitudinally, and employed tosupport the same in its working` position. At its respect ive ends said rod ll-rests in nlug, c', on the tongue, and in a box, F, swiveled or pivoted within a bracket, G, which is bolted tothe vunder sideot' the reach B and axle H. Be-

ing swiveled, the box F is adapted to turn freely, and thus coliform to the movements Y which the tongue e iniaru E unai-"g-0nr turning` ont of line with the reach B. `The` j aperturein the box F, through whichfpasses the rear end of the rod. E," enlarges iearwardly in order that when the `,tongue (l ismo'i'ing` vertically the .rodEmay morethcrcwith withf out heilig. subjected to strain` or deiiectiong` The supporting-power of the rod E isattained by the employment of a spiral spring, E', en-

cirelingthe rear part of the rod, suchfpart being made somewhat 'smaller lthan ,the re# maintien which extends forward and has asereW-thread, e, cut upon it.` furthe receptionl of a nut, I, whereby theclastio force of the...

spring E may be varied so as to `supportthe` i j tongue C higher or; lower,a`s maybedesiredij'` Between the spring 1*)"and-nut lis a-t.ub`e,w1',` lj which prevents the' screwthreaded portion e* from being covered byltheispring E', andthns 1 protects it from the injnrywhich would result. from the contact. The tube i," also facilitates i `the adjustment ofthe spring E on turningf the nut I. By raising thetongue'() by `hand` and 'screwing the nut 1in the properdirection f it can belnadeto oecn py any desired position-f that is, so far as vertical]adjustment is`;eon cerned. Il`he. rod E and spring E' are assisti d in supporting the tongueor neap bymealns ol'` ,a helical spring or springs, VJ; secured on the j rod or bolt d, passing through theiorward l' ends of the hounds.Y Theextremitiesiof they spring or springs J extend beneath the axle and tongue, as seen at jfjfj j, Fig. 1; `Ipro t pose to adjnstthis spring inconformity;with1` the position atl which the tongueisto be snp#` ported by any suitablemeans, not.limiting` myself to any specific.contrivance for doing` this. A screw-bolt working against theends i j of the spring, so as -to contract the sameyor allow it to expand, may `be used; `ori aasniall.

wooden wedge passing between the ends oi' the spring and the i'orks c lot? the tongue will t" f answer the purpose.

K K represent helical'springsfastened to the axleand sand-board.

lldesign fastening y the helical springs to the-hounds inthe fornr l of a grip'. Instead of passing into .theaxlew and saiidboardLthe .ends are made to strad` die the hounds. A small plate with twoheles g is slipped onto the ends up to the coilsg The u springs are then placcdastride of the hounds, another plate `is slipped on the ends inthe' saine way, and nuts are screwedon theends.` j

vinjurious strokes.

likely to produce the same result.

such circumstances .as these just-mentioned, 'Y

In this manner the springs are fastened tothe hounds in the form 'of a grip, and are easily adjusted. Parts ot' these springsv K K, extending from the main coils, are provided with rollers 7c 7c, which, wht-n the vehicle is in the act of turning, move in contact 'with angular pieces of metal L L, which IA term protuherant knuckles. Th ese knuckles are secured to the reach 'l .hy means of bolts, b, and, being slotted-(as seen at I)at the points Where the bolts enter, they may be shifted in position longitudinally upon the reachk B, as varying f' circumstances may necessitate.

the springs K K, acting upon the knuckles L L, prevent the tongue from jerking or swing- .ing forcibly to one side, and cause it toturn 1n such ajst'endy and gentle manner that the lirses are in nowise liable to be struck by the tongue@ Afterthe rollers. k k have passed over the unglesoi' -the knuckles L, during the tnrningof thcwvagon, the pressure of the g spring is restrained to auch an extent -that were ai plied.

the wagon turns quite as easilyas if no springs The springs L L operate together in such manner that the Vehicle, when cramped to the utmost, has a tendency to straighten or assume its normal positi'ofi.

Having thus described my invention, the

following is what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent:

l. In combination with the tongue C, the

swiveled box or bearing E, having an eye' or aperture increasing vin size from front `to back, andemployed to receive and support the end of 4the brace-rod E, substantially in 4the manner and for the purpose explained. t

2. The combinationof thel coiled spring E and nut l with the supporting-rod E, the nut permitting the spring to be contracted and 'expanded atwill for the purpose of varying. the position of the tongue.

3. The tube l', employed in combination with the spring E', rod E, tongue C, and nut- I, 'substantially as herein set forth.

` 4. The adjustable springs K- K, adapted to operate in connection with the knuckles L L, in the manner and for the purposes set forth. 5. The spring or springs J, Wrapped around the tonguerod and withl theirends secured under the tonguehounds and the forward axle or the sand-board, adaptedv for adjustment in any manner, and employed for sustaining the tongue C, as set forth.

ZALMONB. VVAKEMAN. Witnesses:

SrLAs G. T YLEn,

ELI WILL. 

